Scheduling topics for improved student comprehension of recursion

This paper presents the results of an experiment conducted to assess the affects of teaching recursion in two disjoint, non-consecutive units of instruction. One group of students was taught basic and advanced recursion topics in four consecutive class periods, while a second group was taught recurs...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Computers and education 2007-02, Vol.48 (2), p.318-328
Main Authors: Zmuda, Michael, Hatch, Melanie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Block Scheduling
Comprehension
Educational Experiments
Educational Research
Improvement Programs
Instructional Effectiveness
Mathematical Concepts
Pedagogy
Problem Solving
Recursion
Scheduling
Statistical Analysis
Student Improvement
Time Factors (Learning)
Units of Study
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Summary:This paper presents the results of an experiment conducted to assess the affects of teaching recursion in two disjoint, non-consecutive units of instruction. One group of students was taught basic and advanced recursion topics in four consecutive class periods, while a second group was taught recursion in two two-period blocks that were separated by several class periods. It was unknown whether the time period separating the presentation of basic and advanced material would benefit, or hinder, student comprehension. Statistical analysis of empirical data indicates that students learning basic and advanced recursion in a consecutive unit of instruction spend less time solving their problems than the students learning the topic in two separated units, while achieving comparable scores.
ISSN:0360-1315
1873-782X
DOI:10.1016/j.compedu.2005.02.003